Deck Your Platters: The Big List of Christmas Cookie Cookbooks

Amish Christmas Cookbook: Authentic Favorites from Three Generations of Amish Cooks (2021) by Linda Byler, Laura Anne Lapp, and Anna Kauffman

If you’ve bumbled around Little Indiana Bakes for any length of time, you’ll soon realize that I’m a former Hoosier (someone from the state of Indiana) turned Pennsylvanian.

This cookbook includes 100 Amish recipes from Old Order Amish women in over 200 pages in the 7.5 x 0.6 x 9-inch cookbook — with many a Christmas cookie recipe (and more) from the Lancaster, PA, area.

Chapters include:

• Breads and Spreads
• Breakfast Dishes
• Chicken and Turkey Dishes
• Meats and Other Main Dishes
• Salads
• Vegetables
• Desserts
• Beverages

More than recipes, expect interviews and information on how the Amish celebrate Christmas. The Amish are known for their simple cooking and baking, so new bakers will particularly enjoy the recipes found in this easy Christmas cookie cookbook.

A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies (2003) by Dede Wilson

Don’t look now; it’s a 176-page, 6.5 x 0.5 x 10.25-inch book in the wild. Each recipe contains the type of cookie, the country of origin (habitat), a description, and then field notes in the form of interesting little bits.

Discover “related species” in the form of variations and the lifespan (or storing power). Symbols below each title clarify whether a cookie is great to freeze, sturdy enough to mail, or fast to fix.

Chapters include:

• No chapters here. Recipes titles fill the Table of Contents. Flip to what you want. Easy, peasy.

Each cookie recipe not only includes an image but spans two pages. I dig the style of this book. It reminds me of the classic vintage Christmas cookbooks. Choose from Cranberry Snowdrift Bars, Cream Cheese Almond Poinsettia Drops, Night Before Christmas Mice, and Pizzelle (which once again has me wondering why I don’t own a pizzelle maker yet).

Baking for the Holidays 50+ Treats for a Festive Season (2021) by Sarah Kieffer

I already own Sarah Kieffer’s 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen cookbook. She’s the woman behind the pan-banging cookie technique. This time, you’ll enjoy a little over 50 recipes in a 7.9 x 1 x 9.35-inch holiday-themed cookbook.

If your usual St. Nicholas cookies are becoming boring, this book will up your Christmas Eve treats. As someone not only newly divorced but located even further away from my family, I especially dig her quote,

“My hope is for all who use this book is that the recipes and notes contained among the pages bring comfort and cheer to your own festivities and families, however they are shaped and chosen.”

Sarah Kieffer, Baking for the Holidays.

Chapters include:

• Introduction
• Morning Breads and Pastries
• Holiday Desserts
• Gift Giving
• Beyond Christmas

Find Vanilla Bean Sables (plus other versions like citrus and rosemary chocolate chip), Triple Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Salted Caramels, and Turtle Bars. Grams and cup measurements are included, as are lovely images. It’s a delight for the eyes and your Christmas cookie trays.

Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies (2003) by BH&G

Relish 240 pages of cookies and bars to amp up your holiday cheer. This book includes a table of metric measurements and emergency substitutions in the back if needed.

This book was previously published as Cookies for Christmas in 1999 so double-check your titles before you add this one to your Christmas Wishlist.

Chapters include:

• Cutouts for Christmas
• Shapes of the Season
• Slices of Delight
• Sweet Spoonfuls
• Festive Bars and Brownies
• Old-World Favorites
• Sugarplum Shortcuts
• Sweeten the Scene

Delight your fam with the Butterscotch Shortbread Bars or Chocolate-Cherry-Toffee Bars, Truffle Cookies, and Toasted Coconut Wafers. Funny (and ridiculous side note), I find the Sugar Cookie Carolers frightening. Am I right or am I right? Flip to page 79. It’s almost like they are screaming. Other than the creepy carolers, you know BH&G dishes out the good. It’s a keeper.

Christmas Baking: Festive Cookies, Candies, Cakes, Breads, and Snacks to Bring Comfort and Joy to Your Holiday (2020) by Joyce Klynstra and Laura Klynstra

Get your cookie fix with over 100 recipes in this 7.25 x 1 x 9.25-inch book. Yes, each receipt also includes an image, so you can drool while planning your holiday cookie extravaganza.

It’s not exactly a book to read, but you will find a short paragraph outlining the reasons for an ingredient or a personal tidbit.

Chapters include:

• Cookies
• International Cookies
• Bars
• Candy
• Cakes
• Christmas Morning
• Snacks
• Drinks
• Garnish

If you like the extra stuff, like how to arrange a cookie platter or how to best wrap cookies for shipping to your friends and family during the holiday season (and beyond), you’ll find that info here too.

My vote? Finnish Pinwheels, Swedish Spritz Cookies, and First-Place Coconut Macaroons.

Red Velvet Macarons, Raspberry Linzer Cookies (mmm, raspberry!), Mint Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Chocolate Shortbread, and Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies could also easily end up on my Christmas cookie plate. At least, I’m guessing they would — if they can make it out of my kitchen.

Recipes include if they lean easier or are more complicated, so newer bakers can better judge the time and effort involved.

The Christmas Cookie Book (1990) by Judy Knipe and Barbara Marks

I like the tone of this 133-page, 7.75 x 0.75 x 9.5-inch cookbook. The Introduction is swell. Flip to the start of a chapter, and you’ll view the recipes, the page numbers, and have a short intro to read too. Although this book lacks images, there are illustrations.

I like how the authors include tips for cookies to bake and pair together on a cookie plate, a “Cookie Sampler” callout. New bakers may appreciate the guidance, while experienced bakers may like the stress-free inclusion of new recipes.

Chapters include:

• Before You Begin to Bake
• Drop Cookies
• Molded Cookies
• Bar Cookies
• Icebox Cookies
• Pressed Cookies
• Rolled Cookies
• Trimming the Christmas Cookies
• Cookies to Go

Try Cinnamon Orange Coconut Cookies, Aunt Hattie’s Lemon Cream Cookies, Oat Drop Cakes, Mother Gilbert’s Chocolate Cookies, Double Chocolate Wafers, Cappuccino Icebox Cookies, or Ginger Pecan Slices.

Again, that “Cookie Sampler” callout will help you mix and match flavors and discover new recipes in the process.

The Christmas Cookie Book (2000) by Lou Seibert Pappas

Once you know how to bake cookies, the fun begins. Each chapter features a list of the recipes inside. Images aren’t with every recipe, but I like this book’s style.

A thick, colorful border boxes each page (red borders for all the cookies in the “Timeless Traditional Favorites” chapter, for example). It’s nice. Ingredients are listed above the recipe title (or heading) followed by a short description or tip, and instructions.

Chapters include:

• Introduction
• A Short History of Christmas Cookies
• The Basics
• Timeless Traditional Cookies
• Family Favorites
• Cookies for Gift Giving and Mailing
• Elegant Party Cookies

Jingle your bells with Swiss Hazelnut Half-Moons, Viennese Marzipan Bells, Mahogany Iced Brown Bears (not a typo), Swirled Peanut Butter Bars, and Pecan Snowdrops. At 96 pages, the 8.1 x 0.4 x 8.1-inch book could make a useful addition to your collection.

The Christmas Cookie Cookbook (1997) by Trade Life Books

Bake up a storm with this 0.5 x 8.75 x 5.25-inch volume. I thought for a moment that I had misread the date. The layout and style seem more like 1987 than 1997. But I like it.

Chapters include:

• Okay, there aren’t chapters. This book starts with a “recipe” that spells out Christmas, hops right into the actual recipes, and keeps going.

Illustrations pep up the pages, as do special tips or advice on every page. Triple Chocolate Treats, Buttery Cinnamon Cookies, Lemon Twists, Dandy Dunkin’ Sticks, and Candied Orange Cookies span 150 pages (this time, excluding the index — it isn’t numbered and I’m all numbered out).

The Christmas Cookie Cookbook: All the Rules and Delicious Recipes to Start Your Own Holiday Cookie Club (2010) by Ann Pearlman and Marybeth Bayer

What a neat spin on cookie cookbooks! This 6 x 0.6 x 9-inch, 229-page guide and cookbook will knock your stockings off the mantel as you read the intro.

Learn how to choose the recipes, the guests, and everything you need to begin your own Christmas cookie exchange.

Chapters include:

• Prologue: Confessions of a Cookie Virgin
• Starting Your Own Party
• The History of the Cookie
• Types, Trips, and Tools
• Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!!!!
• Candy
• Packaging
• Last-Minute Decorations and Food
• Paaarty!!!
• Baking Tips

Crispy Chocolate Jumbles (these sound like a great coffee match), Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sandwiches, Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies, Nut-Edged Lemon Slices, and Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks will have your party ho-ho hoing with glee.

The Christmas Cookie Cookbook: Give the Gift of Baking with This Collection of 100+ Delicious Recipes (2020) by Appleseed Press Book Publishers LLC

Whatever you choose, the choices will be challenging, with 256 pages in a 6.5 x 0.8 x 8-inch book. Images accompany each recipe. This is the kind of cookbook perfect for a new baker. It’s easy to follow.

Chapters include:

• Classics
• The Night Before Christmas
• Kids’ Favorites
• Great for Gifting
• The Party Circuit
• Around the World
• Gluten-Free and Vegan

Which cookies will you choose for Santa? Mexican Chocolate Cookies or Chocolate Turtle Cookies? Cardamom Cookies, Hazelnut Chewies, or White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies? There is little outside-the-box thinking here. But for anyone who lacks classic recipes, welcome to your new favorite thing.

The Christmas Cookie Book (1949) by Virginia Pasley

A Little Indiana Bakes reader submitted this suggestion on my general Cookie Cookbooks article — and I am so glad she did. This vintage cookbook converted Old World recipes into recipes fit for our modern kitchens … in 1949.

Do you know what’s fun? The author is from the north side of Chicago. Virginia describes Christmas then and it’s a wonderful read. No images but there are illustrations. It’s a 146-page Christmas cookie cookbook I completely love. If you enjoy the vintage vibe, I know you will too.

Chapters include:

• List of Cookies
• Christmas at Our House
• Cookies that Keep
• Cookies that Keep a Little While
• Cookies in Fancy Shapes
• Cookies that Won’t Keep
• Packing Cookies
• Cookie Tools and Ingredients
• Cookies in General

The List of Cookies at the front of the book does just that. Comb through the list of all the recipes in the book divided by chapter. Speaking of chapters, the way Virginia Pasley organized the book is clever. I don’t think I’ve seen chapters arranged by how long a baked good keeps and I know I appreciate it.

Make Hazelnut Cookies, Butterscotch Cookie Crumb Cookies, Raspberry Marzipan Cookies, Lebkuchen from Eleanor or Mrs. Schmidt or Mabel, or Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies.

Christmas Cookies (1986) by Oxmoor House, Inc.

After a page-long intro, this book gets down to business. Don’t expect glossy photos here. This eighties cookie cookbook dives into one recipe after another.

No summary, no personal story. However, it’s a bounty of recipes with the occasional holiday-themed illustration tucked in for good measure.

Chapters include:

• Introduction
• Bars and Squares
• Drop Cookies
• Rolled and Sliced Cookies
• Shaped Cookies
• Foreign Cookies

Almond Mocha Bars, Chocolate Frosted Toffee Bars, Croesus Squares, Pumpkin Spice Cookies (wouldn’t that smell amazing!), and Brownie Drop Cookies would have anyone ditch the sugarplum dreams for any of these.

This isn’t a fancy cookbook. But wow, these recipes are things I’d use for the holidays and beyond. I can’t praise this cookbook for Christmas cookie baking enough.

Christmas Cookies (2006) by Oxmoor House, Inc.

You may have noticed that the cookbook above is also a Christmas cookie cookbook from Oxmoor House, Inc. From the layout to the recipes, these are different books in every way.

This 128-page copy includes the occasional image plus a brief sentence (sometimes more) with every recipe.

Chapters include:

• Making Memories
• Cookie Primer
• Shaped Cookies
• Drop Cookies
• Bar Cookies

Sink your teeth into White Chocolate Dream Cookies, Coffee Bean Cookies, Holiday Candy Fudge Bars, and Aunt Neal’s Old-Fashioned Tea Cakes (dating back to the turn of the twentieth century).

Some recipes contain convenience items like all-purpose baking mix or cake mix, but most are homemade.

Christmas Is Cookies: And Gingerbread and Spice Cake and Fudge and More by Time-Life Books

I hesitated to include another cookbook with more than cookies but it’s from Time-Life. How could I not? It’s a 127-page, 7.25 x 0.75 x 9.25-inch book in “The Everyday Cookbooks” series.

You may already own:

• Monday is Meatloaf
• Tuesday is Chicken
• Wednesday Is Spaghetti
• Thursday is Potluck
• Friday is Fish
• Saturday Is Cookouts
• Sunday Is Family Dinners
• Weekends are Entertaining

If so, then these books follow the same style. If not, I hope you find these books as fun as I do.

Chapters include:

• Cookies and Bars
• Cakes
• Pies and Puddings
• Candy
• Quick Breads and Coffee Cakes

These recipes aren’t ground-breaking. Browse classic cookie recipes like Pfeffernusse, Soft Molasses Cookies, Licorice Cookies, Black-and-White Pinwheel Cookies, and Oatmeal Scotchies.

Recipes include cute little illustrations. I flipped to the back and found a Swedish Cherry Twist I’m adding to my baking list. Okay, and the Eggnog Pie. Oh, plus the Marble Spice Cake. Psst! You may not miss the images in this one.

Christmas Cookies (2012) by Love Food

Get UK-inspired with this Love Food cookbook. This 80-page book includes metric and imperial measurements. It also boasts a pic for every recipe. The decorated cookies in this book actually look doable (and oh-so-lovely).

Chapters include:

• Introduction
• The Christmas Cookies
• Recipe Index

Eggnog Cookies, Chocolate Date and Pecan Pinwheels, Treacle and Spice Drizzles, plus Apple and Spice Cookies, could add a unique English razzle dazzle to your holiday cookie trays.

Christmas Cookies and Candies (1979) by Barbara Myers

You may recognize Barbara’s name from Woman’s Day Old-Fashioned Desserts (1978) and a smattering of others. I love the font of the chapter headings in this 200-page cookbook. Each recipe receives its own page (no images).

Chapters include:

• Ingredients
• Christmas Cookies
  • Baking and Storing
  • Rolled Cookies
  • Cookie Cut-Outs
  • Molded Cookies
  • Hand-Shaped Cookies
  • Cookie-Press Cookies
  • Bar Cookies
  • Drop Cookies
  • Meringues and Macaroons
• Christmas Candies
  • Cooking and Storing
  • Creamy Candies
  • Chewy and Hard Candies
  • Fruit and Nut Confections

Deciding what to share with you has been difficult. This cookbook isn’t eye candy, like so many are today, but it IS excellent. Recipes include a short sentence or two.

My picks include Vanilla Sticks, Basler Brunsli (a Swiss chocolate spice cookie), Royal Crowns (a Norwegian cookie), and Beacon Hill Cookies. I could continue.

Christmas Cookies: From Your Favorite Brand Name Companies (1995) by Publications International, Ltd.

These may be partially from scratch (expect cake mixes and other convenience food items in there), but scratch-made Christmas cookies and bars abound in the 96-page cookbook.

Chapters include:

• Holiday Favorites
• Cookie Cutter Cutouts
• Heavenly Chocolate
• Bevy of Bars
• Fancy Cookies

Tasty temptations include Apricot-Pecan Tassies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars, Chocolate-Frosted Lebkuchen, Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Chocolate Nut Slices.

Images may not accompany every recipe, but you’ll want to skedaddle into the kitchen fast for the recipes with them. Simple and good.

Christmas Cookies: A Collection of Incredibly Edible Cookies, plus Nifty Packaging and Cookie Swap How-To’s (2019) by Gooseberry Patch

If you love Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, consider this cookie-themed book a win. Unlike earlier Gooseberry cookbooks, this one includes 21 full-color recipe photos for 240 pages of reader-submitted recipes in this hardcover 7.11 x 1.17 x 9.31-inch book.

Chapters include:

• Frost-Kissed Cut-Outs
• Razzle-Dazzle Drop Cookies
• A Blizzard of Bar Cookies
• Snow Kidding
• Sugarplum-Perfect Cookies
• Candy Cane Lane
• Very Merry Mixes

Dusen Confectos include raspberry and ground almonds (which sounds like a win to me), Orange-You-Glad Cookies (with orange flavor and orange frosting), and Chocolate Cut-Outs with Peanut Butter Frosting.

As with all cookbooks by Gooseberry Patch, expect ingredients like cook-and-serve puddings and other packaged items in some recipes. The homemade recipes, however, will keep you baking (and returning for more).

Christmas Cookie Swap: More than 100 Treats to Share this Holiday Season (2016) by Oxmoor House

How much do I love this layout? Let me count the ways. They include “how to” pics, plus a legible font, in 256 pages of deliciousness. Yes, the headings are in a red or green font, but they are still legible.

I like how they add image borders and devote two pages to every recipe. One page is a full-sized pic featuring the cookie or confection.

Chapters include:

• Merry Christmas!
• Christmas Cookie Basics
• Cookies for Santa
• Decorated Cookies
• Christmas Classics
• Brownies and Bars
• Confections

White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies may not scream “traditional cookie plate,” but who cares? Pretzel-Toffee-Chocolate Chunk Cookies will make my list too. What can I say? Pretzels in cookies (and crunched over ice cream) are fantastic.

Java Toffee Cookies, Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies, and Chocolate Cherry Sugar-Crusted Shortbread. Okay, here’s the thing: I could keep listing recipes. It’s a fantastic holiday-themed cookbook.

Christmas with Southern Living 2022 (2022) by the Editors of Southern Living Magazine

Southern Living magazine dazzles with over 100 new recipes, plus tips and tricks to cook, bake, and decorate with a southern flair in this Christmas cookbook and decorating publication.

At 192 pages, the 8.88 x 0.63 x 11.25-inch book follows their usual holiday cookbook format, so there are no unwelcome surprises here.

Chapters include:

• Decorate
• Entertain
• Savor and Share

Check out the section on “board dining.” It includes a Delta Dessert Board, Creole Brunch Board, an Appalachian Breakfast Board, and all the recipes and tips you’ll need to make your own.

From Iced Sugar Cookies to Peppermint Pinwheels to Pecan Cookies, there may not be a lot of “break the mold” sort of cookie recipes, but that’s okay. It’s fun to try and discover new, yet familiar, favorites.

Cookies for Christmas (1999) by Jennifer Darling

Delve into over 130 cookie recipes and images in this 240-page, 9.25 x 0.88 x 10-inch book. Really, the pics are lovely. It’s the kind of book that’s a treat to bake from and a joy to browse. I appreciate it when a recipe fits on one page in its entirety.

Chapters include:

• Cutouts for Christmas
• Shapes of the Season
• Slices of Delight
• Sweet Spoonfuls
• Festive Bars and Brownies
• Old-World Favorites
• Sugarplum Shortcuts
• Sweeten the Scene
• Cookie Basics

Old and new favorites abound. Bake up Cherry Candy Cookies or Chocolate-Mint Thumbprints, Almond Safe Cookies or Honey and Poppy Seed Hearts. Cherry Coconut Drops and Brown Sugar Bars could be high on the nice list too.

Cook’s Illustrated All-Time Best Holiday Entertaining (2017) by Cook’s Illustrated

I’ve long been fascinated by Boston, Massachusetts. I no longer remember what book I read that caused my decades-long infatuation with Boston, but now that I’m in Pennsylvania, it’s a doable trip.

America’s Test Kitchen is on my list of places to gawk. With 15,000 square feet of kitchen space, plus photography and video studios, and the site of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine — you can see why my little coal black heart thrills at the idea.

Chapters include:

• Here Come the Holidays
• Starters
• Centerpieces
• Shareable Sides
• Sweet Endings

I admit, this 192-page, 7.38 x 0.86 x 9.31-inch book is short on cookie recipes. Before you throw rotting vegetables my way, it does include a heap of desserts. Besides, I love their work. I can’t NOT include this one.

Look for Biscochitos, Glazed Butter Cookies, and Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies. Add in Hazelnut-Mocha Truffles and Chai Masala Truffles for one glorious cookie platter.

Good Housekeeping Christmas Cookies: 75 Irresistible Holiday Treats (2016) by Good Housekeeping

Narrowing down the list of recipes to make this holiday season will be tough with this 128-page cookbook. I love it! Good Housekeeping does a great job with its cookbooks. This 7.75 x 0.75 x 9.5-inch book is no different.

Chapters include:

• One Dough Does It
• Easy Drops
• Holiday Heirlooms
• Bar Beauties
• Filled with Joy
• Pressed, Piped, or Sliced

The “One Dough Does It” chapter features a slew of recipes using one master cookie dough recipe. I’m surprised by the range from Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Stick (definitely big on eye-appeal) to Cranberry-Orange Spice Cookies or Chocolate Pinwheels.

I admit I usually bypass “one dough for all the cookies” recipes, but I like what I see here. The same goes for the rest of this holiday cookbook. Try Butter Almond Thins or Coconut Joy Bars, Brown Sugar Hazelnut Bars, Chocolate Filled Biscotti, and Spice Drops (which look soft and delicious).

Good Housekeeping: The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Cookbook: 60 Large-Batch Recipes to Bake and Share (2009) by Good Housekeeping

Baking for a crowd or a cookie party? You’ll want this book with 60 recipes from around the world that bake up a minimum of eight dozen cookies.

Skip to the back for page after page of tear-out blank recipe cards for convenient recipe sharing. Although images don’t accompany many of the 60 delightful cookies, there are some “how-to” helpful pics.

Chapters include:

• Share the Joy
• Hosting a Great Christmas Cookie Swap
• Perfect Cookies You’ll Be Proud to Share
• Bar Cookies
• Drop Cookies
• Rolled and Cut-Out Cookies
• Shaped and Refrigerator Cookies

Good Housekeeping layouts are always so well done. This book is no different. Each recipe opens with a summary. Recipe titles are in red font, FYI. But, the ingredients are bolded black and easy to read.

Churn out dozens of Praline-Topped Brownies, Cinnamon Spirals, Noisettines, Angeletti, Lemon-Cranberry Shortbread, or Double Chocolate Cherry Drops. Rifle through the 125-page, 6 x 1.25 x 7.5-inch book (excluding the index and the extras) to see what helps you find your merry this year.

Grandma’s Christmas Cookies (1999) by Favorite Brand Name Recipes

Peruse 96 pages of recipes meant to complete your holiday dessert selection. Don’t expect a heap of images. Although a smaller book, it offers a decent variety. This cookbook could be a big plus for newer bakers wanting classic holiday recipes.

Chapters include:

• Traditional Cookie Jar Favorites
• Classic Chips and Chunks
• Keepsake Bar Cookies
• Time-Honored Brownies
• Grandkids’ Delights
• Old-World Christmas Treats

Some cookies begin with cookie mixes, but plenty of scratch-made cookie recipes keep your kitchen happily dusted in a fine coating of flour. Bake up Peanut Butter Sensations, Ivory Chip Strawberry Fudge Drops, German Honey Bars, or Chocolatey Rocky Road Brownies.

The Great Minnesota Cookie Book: Award-Winning Recipes from the Star Tribune’s Holiday Cookie Contest (2018) by Lee Svitak Dean and Rick Nelson

The Star Tribune gathered eighty cookie recipes from their annual cookie contest for this 240-page 7 x 0.7 x 9-inch cookbook. “We are not looking for recipes that everyone already has—this contest calls for something different.

The recipes that make the winner’s circle must delight and inspire both longtime bakers and those entering the kitchen for the first time,” reads the Introduction. That’s a tall order.

Chapters include:

• Cookie Memories
• Cookie Wisdom
• Drop Cookies
• Cutout Cookies
• Refrigerator Cookies
• Rolled Cookies
• Bar Cookies
• Other Cookies (recipes such as Chocolate-Drizzled Churros and Cranberry Pumpkin-Seed Biscotti

The editors combed through more than 3,500 recipes. Judges for the contest have tasted over 325 cookie varieties in the last 15 years. I so want in on that.

In the past, I was part of the judging for a chili cook-off in the past a couple years in a row. You can bet I wouldn’t mind judging cookies. But unlike the milk or water the cookie judges use to cleanse their palettes, chili judging included water or beer. Not a bad way to spend an hour at all.

I want to try the Strawberry Margarita Gems, Cardamom Shortbread Cookies, Mocha Cappuccino Cookies, Brandy Cherry Cookies, and Chai Crescents.

Holiday Cookies Collection Over 100 Recipes for the Merriest Season Yet! (2022) by Brian Hart Hoffman

If you know Bake from Scratch magazine (one of my absolute favorites), you’ll want this gourmet cookie book (and then some).

The 256-page, 8.75 x 1.25 x 10.25-inch cookbook will have a little overlap with the magazines, but now you can write in your cookbook and keep tabs on your favorites. It will make your baking much more manageable.

Chapters include:

• Chocolate Cheer
• Holiday Hits
• Boozy and Bright
• Around the World
• Spice is Nice
• Big on Bars
• Stellar Sandwich Cookies
• Cookies that Snap

Check out Mike Johnson’s Peppermint Patty Brownies, Sarah Kieffer’s Peppermint and Chocolate Cookies (yes, they use her pan-banging technique), Erin Clarkson’s Pinky Bar Cookies, and Joshua Weissman’s Danish Butter Cookies.

Not every recipe breaks the cookie mold, but you know how this baking magazine operates. Expect baking perfection. Measurements are in cups and grams. This IS Bake from Scratch, after all. It’s how they roll, slice, and bake.

Holiday Cookies Prize-Winning Family Recipes from the Chicago Tribune for Cookies, Bars, Brownies and More (2014) by the Chicago Tribune Staff

Shortly before I headed into Kindergarten, my parents purchased a home in a small northwest Indiana town. We moved from our Chicago suburb, but my parents continued to get their weekly Chicago Tribune (and still do).

My mom gifted this 224-page, 7.3 x 0.9 x 9.3-inch cookbook to me last year (or was it the year before?). It’s a wonderful book featuring most of the first, second, and third place winners plus honorable mention cookie contest winners from 1988 to 2013 and their stories .

Chapters include:

• Simple Drop Cookies
• Sugar and Spice
• Fruit and Nut Treats
• Chocolate Delights
• Sandwich Cookies
• Brownies and Bars

Hazelnut Espresso Truffle Cookies, Dorie’s Dark and Stormies, Chocolate Zingers, and Swedish Spice Cookies jump out at me. I’ve made the Gingerbread Cookies out of this one to stick with the gingerbread people tradition from many Christmases spent at our friend Cathy’s house.

My oldest loves a good gingerbread cookie and adores these cookies. That’s how I feel about this book. Read it. Bake from it. Earmark the hell out of it. It’s a keeper.

Holiday Cookies: Showstopping Recipes to Sweeten the Season (2017) by Elisabet der Nederlanden

I’ve raved, crowed, and practically tap-danced about this cookbook. Its clean design caught my eye in a library five years ago. Buying this 50-recipe, 161-page, 7.77 x 0.71 x 9.28-inch cookbook took zero thought. I love it!

Chapters include:

• Very Merry Classics
• Cookie Exchange Party
• Warm Holiday Spice
• Around the World
• Holiday Confections
• Decorated Delights

I will shout my love for Malted Milk Chocolate Cookies from the rooftops. Those cookies. I was so deep in thinking about them just now that I accidentally drank yesterday’s coffee and didn’t even notice. That’s how good they are.

The beautiful cookbook, foolproof baking guidance, tips, and lovely layout are the sprinkles on the Santa-faced cookie.

I’d still like to make the Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Sandwich Cookies, and Red Velvet Crackle Cookies.

The Hot Chocolate Cookies with Aleppo Pepper intrigue me (mostly because my brain cannot fathom that flavor, and I want to know what that would be like).

The Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies (1996) by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker

This is a 128-page, 7 x 0.75 x 10-inch cookie cookbook you will splatter with flour all year. It’s incredible. Discover 75 cookie recipes, plus over 25 recipes for extra stuff. Half of the recipes are new.

At the time, this book was a preview of the revision of the Joy of Cooking (a feat not attempted in over two decades).

Chapters include:

• Cookies
• Bar Cookies
• Drop Cookies
• Rolled Cookies
• Hand-Shaped Cookies
• Filled Cookies
• Icebox Cookies
• Piped, Pressed, and Molded Cookies
• Extras
• Icings and Glazes
• Accompaniments
• Drinks

Raspberry Brownies Cockaigne sounds incredible. I will be making these soon, so check back or follow Little Indiana Bakes.

There are also Chocolate-Glazed Toffee Bars (hmm, I may need to make these ASAP, too), Chocolate Shortbread (talk about a delicious cookie), Florentines Cockaigne, and Mocha Walnut Monster Cookies. I want to make practically everything out of this cookbook. Images accompany each recipe.

Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookies (2000) by Publications International, Ltd.

Flippity flip through the 78-page book (which includes the index and a page at the back of metric conversions) for a small collection of confections.

I like the mix of classic holiday selections with a few unfamiliar faces. Nothing here will require much in the way of a time commitment. These are not particularly labor-heavy cookies and could help bump up your year-round cookie baking.

Chapters include:

• Christmas Classics
• Heavenly Bars
• Irresistible Chocolate
• Festive Fruits and Nuts
• Delightful Cutouts

Although some recipes use a cake mix, canned frosting, or other convenience items, there are still homemade things to be found (or easy substitutions to be made).

Belgian Tuile Cookies, Pumpkin White Chocolate Drops (you’d want to make your own frosting here, of course), Danish Lemon-Filled Spice Cookies (Medaljekager), and Chocolate Cherry Bars will have the whole reindeer gang smiling. Images appear often, but only of some items.

Rose’s Christmas Cookies (1998) by Rose Levy Beranbaum

If you’ve been baking for a while, you’ve likely come across Rose’s name before. She’s the lady behind the Cake Bible cookbook (and a dozen or so other “must-have” cookbooks. Boy, would I like a chance to interview her.

I want to know how she organizes her kitchen, learn about the cookbooks she treasures the most, her favorite part of the cookbook writing process, and if she has a favorite whisk and rolling pin too.

This 8.25 x 0.8 x 10.4-inch 256-page cookbook matches the attention to detail for which Rose is known.

Chapters include:

• Tree and Mantelpiece Cookies
• Cookies to Make for and/or with Kids
• Cookies for Gifting
• Cookies for Sending
• Cookies for an Open House
• Cookies for Holiday Dinner Parties

Rose uses a unique chart to share the ingredients of a cookie. Why? Simple: you can easily access volume, ounces, and grams in a convenient format. Recipes share how to make cookies using the food processor method or an electric mixer.

Whip up Mrs. King’s Irresistibles, Lion’s Paws, Turtles, Chocolate Caramel Chews, and Mother Bauer’s Buttered Rum Cookies. How will you ever decide? Expect many images, lots of advice, and excellent stories. It’s a cookbook to read, bake from, and love.

Taste of Home Christmas Cookies Mini Binder: 100+ Sweets for a Simply Magical Holiday (2020) by Taste of Home

This binder-style 208-page, 6.25 x 1.1 x 8.25-inch cookbook dazzles. You know TOH recipes. Readers send in their favorites for your baking pleasure.

Recipes lean to the simple and include nutritional information, plus prep and bake time estimates for those who need to know such a thing.

Chapters include:

• Our Top 10 Christmas Cookies
• Classic Cutouts
• Dreamy Drop Cookies
• Spritz and Shaped Cookies
• Slice and Bake Cookies
• Bars, Biscotti, and More
• No-Bake Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms and Christmas Sugar Cookies line many a holiday dessert tray. Those kinds of cookie classics are here, as well as plenty more. Stacked Snowman Cookies are adorable.

Choose among Swedish Spritz, Raspberry Almond Strips, and First-Place Coconut Macaroons for a sweet finish to your holiday celebration.

Taste of Home Christmas Cookies and Candy (2008) Taste of Home

Dog-ear 217 Christmas candy and cookie recipes in the typical TOH style. Expect images with each recipe plus a short paragraph above each recipe.

I particularly enjoy the chapter layout. I like when books list the cookies within the chapter — as this 112-page (that includes the index) does.

Chapters include:

• Cutout and Shaped Cookies
• Sandwich and Specialty Cookies
• Drop Cookies
• Chocolate Creations
• Refrigerator Cookies
• Bars and Brownies
• Christmas Sweets

Spice Cutout Cookies (yes, you’ll need your cookie cutters for these), White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams (WOW!), Toffee Almond Sandies, Cappuccino Truffle Brownies (might be fun to try a different riff on Cappuccino Brownies), and Caramel Butter-Pecan Bars will have you fa la la’ing all over the kitchen.

Woman’s Day Christmas Cookies, Candies, and Cakes (2008) by Woman’s Day

Green recipe titles with a red summary below may not make the easiest reading for some people. At least the recipes in the 7.25 x 0.5 x 9.25-inch book are written in a clear black font.

Every recipe includes an image, and it’s from Woman’s Day, so you sort of expect these to be amazing cookies. Callout boxes have storage tips to simplify how to package and preserve your baked goods.

Chapters include:

• Shaped Cookies
• Drop Cookies
• Bars
• Cakes
• Candies

This book provides a rough idea of how long it will take to prep and bake each recipe.

I discovered a few interesting varieties of Italian Anise Cookies, Hazelnut Snowballs, Spice Cookie Cutouts (I’ll need to grab my cookie cutters), Pecan-Date Squares, Raspberry Schnitten, and Almond Orange Macaroons.

Add a heaping dose of Christmas cheer to your kitchen cookbook shelf with this 96-page holiday baking book.